Earthquake of magnitude 7 strikes Tonga islands

NUKUʻALOFA: A 7.0-magnitude quake struck offshore near Tonga, the US Geological Survey said Sunday, with authorities in the Pacific island nation warning of tsunami waves.

The shallow quake hit 79 kilometres (49 miles) south-southeast of the village of Pangai at 1219 GMT on Sunday.

The US tsunami warning system initially said “hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300 kilometres of the epicentre along the coasts of Tonga”.

It subsequently revised the assessment, saying “the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed”, but authorities in Tonga issued further warnings.

The Tonga Meteorological Services told residents in the risk area to evacuate inland to high ground, three-storey solid buildings or tsunami evacuation sites.

“Mariners out at sea are advised to move to deep water away from reefs or coasts and remain there until it is safe,” it said on Facebook.

The tourism ministry published an evacuation map on Facebook for the capital Nuku’alofa.

Earthquakes are common in Tonga, a low-lying archipelago home to around 100,000 people that straddles the seismic Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire is an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

At least 1,600 people were killed and 3,400 injured by Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake in Myanmar.

The US Geological Service’s predictive modelling estimated Myanmar’s death toll could top 10,000 and losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output.

The quake jolted parts of neighbouring Thailand, bringing down an under-construction skyscraper and killing 17 people across the capital, according to Thai authorities. At least 78 people remained trapped under the debris of the collapsed building.

The deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar in years damaged critical infrastructure, including an airport, highways and bridges, slowing humanitarian operations, according to the United Nations.